Ice & Heat Treatment

Heat treatment penetrates the skin to stimulate circulation and get oxygen back into the muscles to relieve stifness and painful tissues. In addition, while the nerves are distracted from heat messages to the brain, they are less able to process signals of pain. This leads to a plesant soothing of pain when exposed to heat treatment.

Ice treatment reduces swelling, tissue damage, blood clot formation, inflammation and muscle spasms. Ice initially constricts blood vessels and decreases tissue temperature. After approximately 20 minutes of ice, blood vessels in the injured area then dilate (open) slowly, increasing the tissue temperature, an effect which is termed "reactive vasodilation." This equates to less pain for the patient and reduced risk of tissue damage.